This blog post is different from my most recent posts in one way in particular:
I am back in Kansas for the summer!
Yes, the semester and everything with it is over: classes, papers, Spring banquet, Friday afternoon Bible club, times with Melinda and Liz, graduation, choir and handbell tour, goodbyes. In August, things will start all over again, but it will not be like this last semester or even the one before. There will never be another semester like this past one, especially because all of the senior graduated and are gone. What am I going to do without Melinda and Liz, the two who are almost always together and were both practically my roommates, (even though technically it was only Melinda who actually slept in the same room as I did). I miss them...:(
This semester was a great semester. I really enjoyed my classes, especially Bible Doctrine 2 where we got an overview of the second-half of the major Bible doctrines such as hamartiology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology. As I already mentioned in a previous post, I did my supplemental reading on eschatology, the study of the End Times and it was very fascinating, yet convicting and challenging at the same time, to read more about just a small facet of what will be happening in the future. Christ could return at any moment!
Am I ready for this great event and am I telling others so that they too can be ready?
I also very much appreciate the class on the Gospel of John. Perhaps one of the best parts of the entire class was listening to (and reading along with) the Word of Promise’s dramatized audio of the book in one sitting both at the beginning and then at the end of the semester! Wow! If you have never read through the whole book without stopping for more than a short period of time, you should make it a goal to do so! It is well-worth the time! It was amazing to see themes repeating and being able to follow the message being woven throughout the book.
First semester, it seemed like Romans 8:28-29 was popping up everywhere: in class, in chapel, in church. Everywhere I turned around, it seemed like I was always being reminded of the great promise in these verses, so I have come to “label” those verses as the theme of last semester. This semester, however, I guess God wanted me to learn something else. Because there was such an obvious “theme” last semester, I was kind wondering what would it would be this semester, or even if there would be one. Sure enough! If someone were to ask me what it was, I would say that the theme or “truth” that I kept coming back to this semester was being convicted and almost overwhelmed by the importance of praying for each other. It was through various events that I was constantly being reminded of my failure to pray for my fellow classmates and believers, even though it seemed like “everything is going great!”
How is my prayer life? Am I diligently praying for those around me?
From the 19th of May until the 6th of June, twenty-four of us were on a choir and handbell tour out to the East, getting to tour D.C. (in a few short hours), and also Philadelphia, along with simply being able to see the beautiful countryside of the East. I had never been any further east than Indiana, so pretty much this whole trip was an adventure for me! But this trip was more than just lots of fun: with the exception of only a couple nights, we held a program at a different church practically every night. While I enjoyed all of the songs that we sang, I think my favorite of them all is the last song, “It was His Grace”, which is based on the verse in Philippians 1:6 where it says “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It was during the tour, where one was around everyone practically 24/7,that God showed me and convicted me of several areas in my life that I need to change, even though I truly am justified and accepted in His sight. It was, and still is, such a comfort then, to sing that last song and be reminded of the verse, and be reassured that God will continue to work in my life in order to make me more like Himself! I think it is safe to say that this verse has become one of my favorite verses over the last few weeks (and months)!
Until next time...:)
(hopefully there will be some pictures next time!)
